


ON

by PageofHopes



Category: OFF (Game)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-16
Updated: 2013-05-18
Packaged: 2017-12-08 16:04:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/763307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PageofHopes/pseuds/PageofHopes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zacharie has a plan to let the failed Batter achieve what they both want the most.</p><p>Inspired by and the Sequel to http://cacoethic.tumblr.com/post/48003869161/</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Observer

**Author's Note:**

> Please read the comic here or you'll be very confused: http://cacoethic.tumblr.com/post/48003869161/

The Batter said nothing, just gave Zacharie a long, hard stare before nodding. 

“And it seems our mission has been blessed! Though it saddens me to not be able to offer you anything, dear observer, know that your grace spurs us forward. Truly you are a symbol of our eventual success!” Zacharie exclaimed.

Zacharie fidgeted and reached into his backpack to pull out an item, any item. He started to reach into the emptiness that once held everything anyone could need for battle. The Batter, however, had no patience for this routine and grabbed Zacharie's arm, forcing him to cease his struggling. 

“You will be no use to them, stop this nonsense. Has it occurred to you that neither of us has the ability to create form from emptiness and mold new elements? I doubt your backpack can give us such blessings.”

“Eh eh eh, you are right my friend, my backpack seems to be completely empty of all wares! I'm an items merchant with no items. That will be my first thing to do, create items to sell. What would you do first?”

“Answer my question.”

“Isn't it obvious, eh eh eh? We harvest them from the bodies of your creator, and perhaps your wife. Well, not strictly we, one of us must play the role of The Queen and oversee the creation of the ”

“It will be me. There is no other who could hold this job.”

“That's the spirit! You were once one with the Queen and hold a strong link with Hugo, surely you will be able to suck the last of their good wills into your own black soul. I am ecstatic to see the world which will come of such a dark heart.”

“Where is The Judge?”

“He will do nothing to stop us. He walks the purification, trying to find any last hope of life. The last place he will ever search is the remnants of the room that stinks of death and decay.”

The Batter stood back and contemplated everything Zacharie had told him. He looked upon the white of Zone 1, the structures that still held, the lines and forms that taunted him with their continued existence. Even after all the purifying, the world still held. The Batter wondered for a moment whether the OFF switch would still be able to shut off the world, and then wondered if it was still in The Room, unguarded. 

Finally, just as Zacharie was about to fiddle inside his backpack once more, he said:

“Stay here. The Judge may be back, and I have a mission to accomplish.”

Zacharie just responded with his usual chuckle and watched The Batter until he was out of sight. He then left for the Sugar bunker, finding Sucre's now white and purified corpse. He placed a hand on her and said “Perhaps in my new world I can fix you.” before pausing for a moment.

He then spoke again. “Don't you think you should go check on The Batter, dear observer? You must keep a careful eye on him, you never know what trouble he might be up to. There is nothing to witness here that you need to know.”

\---

The Batter's first stop was not the body of the Queen or Hugo, instead he passed both of these in favor of following his original path of purification. His steps echoed across the empty halls in a faithful rhythm. Occasionally, The Batter would look behind him only finding the pure and white. As he came upon the choice where his faithful player had abandoned him, soured by the deeds witnessed and turned by The Judge's words, he found that the switch he needed to shut off the world was blocked from all sides. The Judge's work, no doubt. The Batter sighed and began to make his way back through the areas he passed. 

He first stopped in Hugo's room, looking at the body that was beaten and bruised. He was wrong before, there was still darkness in this world. He could feel it in Hugo's small body, beating and pulsing as if it was alive. The hope of a new existence that had birthed The Queen, him, and the three original guardians. Not even The Batter's purifying light could quench that darkness, but perhaps like Zacharie said, he could absorb it into his own dark soul. The batter closed his eyes and in a moment he had claws and sharp, razored teeth. His skin was rough like stone and his eyes were empty and pure. He opened his mouth and hissed, his large tongue coming out and searching for the pulsing energy. No inhuman being should have been able to touch it, but The Batter handled the energy with ease, as if blessed by fate itself. However, he found that it did not wish to be part of him, fighting against everything to not be one with The Batter's heart. But The Batter's will proved stronger, and soon the pulsing spread throughout The Batter's body and mind. He licked his lips before returning to his humanoid form. Without the hope that every being has in existing, Hugo simply vanished as if he never existed. There was no hesitation, no remorse. There was no reason for such things. This was better.

The Batter soon followed suit with The Queen, swallowing what Hugo gave her in one quick motion. The warmth mixed and mingled with the cold of purification as The Queen faded. But even this was not enough, he knew this could not form a new corruption. As he began to head back to the nothingness he felt a familiar presence beginning to form in his hands. As he squeezed the air he formed a new bat, but now was not the time to fight. The bat was weak and would have him fall to The Judge, even if, as he suspected, The player had left him as well. 

The Batter went into each of the newly purified zones, finding the bodies of the former guardians. Each of them had been made by Hugo as well, he knew. With what he took from their bodies The Batter knew it would be enough. And as he licked his lips over each and every one of the monsters that dared to stand against him, he felt another familiar presence, though one that could not take form yet, as they had nothing to attach themselves to. But they would soon.

The Batter had the power to recreate the world, the hope to bring it to life, the despair to corrupt it, and the will to eventually see the world into non-existence. Everything was how it should be. 

It was time to go find Zacharie and the other 2 guardians. The sooner this world was purified, the better.


	2. Chapter 2

It was no time at all until The Batter made his way back to Zone 0, but to his surprise, Zacharie was not the only being in the empty zone. Zacharie sat talking with The Judge until they noticed The Batter's form. The Judge immediately pounced on The Batter, bearing it's many teeth and hissing. The Batter simply looked to Zacharie for assistance, attempting to pull The Judge off of him to no avail. Though The Batter realized that The Judge was not nearly as powerful as before. He knew if he fought back, he could possibly take The Judge in a fight now- The Judge was nothing without a player to guide him. But that would not help the situation. The barricades preventing his holy mission would still be present. For now he must play nice and let Zacharie pull The Judge off rather than purify the cat like he deserved. 

“Pablo, he has reformed and changed, can you not detect it? Surely you can feel the difference in the heart of The Batter. He has given up on his mission now that it is futile, and wishes to help recreate the world.” Zacharie said as he attempted to pull The Judge off of The Batter.

The Judge only returned a hiss. “One such as him would never reform. If you believe he has given up on his mission then you are as blind as I once was to his nature. There is nothing this puppet can do but eradicate everything in his path. A being such as him has no power to form. Everything he summons could only destroy, like his Add-Ons that joined him. Such pure and holy forms that ushered in the destruction.”

“And what will destroying The Batter do for us, for this world? Think rationally Pablo! Do you not long for the world to be filled with color once more? You know that only The Batter could hold the job of The Queen and the creation power of Hugo. Our own minds and bodies would collapse under the weight of such power. Nothing could be worse than what we live in right now.”

The Judge hesitated in his attacks, letting Zacharie pull him off The Batter. He jumped down from Zacharie's grip and glared at The Batter. 

“I will only agree if this one has no power to directly work with. All of the potential and creation power must be delegated to others, even if he is the source. There are also to be no specters at any point. And finally, if there are any puppeteers that arise, he is to have no contact with them. Do you accept these terms Batter?”

The Batter took no time at all to nod. None of these conditions would cause him any problem. He did not need any direct power or specters, he could feel the taint in the potential that would set the zones on the darkest path. And when the player characters came, The Judge would not have any power to stop them from finding him. Nothing stands between players and their goal. 

“Honestly Pablo, you're being overly careful. He is unable to complete his objective, and there is nothing that could allow him or anyone to complete it from everything you've told me. Why don't you just relax and go along with this wonderful adventure? Tout va bien.”

The Judge ruffled his fur and rubbed his paw against his face to smooth out the fur. “Then I believe we have one last guardian to find. We must hurry, the lingering smoke will soon fade into nothingness. I will fetch the lonely elsen and bring him to this zone. Unless either of you has the most fortunate power of being able to bring others into different zones?”

Zacharie and The Batter looked at each other, then at The Judge, shaking their heads. They had never needed such a power in their use, and such none was given to them. The Judge merely flicked his whiskers and tail. “Try not to cause any more destruction than you two have already precipitated. It would be a shame for such a good plan to be ruined by your impulses.” And with that final remark, he leaped off into the nothingness. 

It was a good while before The Judge returned, and when he did there followed a flustered, shaking elsen. 

“The cat... it talked... and then took me to this strange place. What happened to my home? Everything...everything is gone. What is the point... of existing?”

The Batter looked at The Judge sternly. “Did you explain nothing to him?”

“He seemed to not understand that a cat could possibly be holding a conversation. I'm afraid nothing has sank in. Terrible shame that no one talks to cats anymore.”

The Batter sighed and just as he opened his mouth to explain, Zacharie started to talk. 

“Do not fear, great friend! You have witnessed the great apocalypse, but you have survived as a great elsen! You will be given a zone of your own to build as you desire, and can fill it with friends and fun alike. There will be no more fear, no more suffering, if that is your wish.”

“..But..how...I could never...do something like that.”

“Of course you can! You survived the world crumbling beneath you! You can do anything, and we need you. You are a vital piece in this grand clock that will turn back the time and let us begin a new. There will be no spectres and nothing to cause you to burn again.”

“.......Well...if I am needed...I can be a worker...”

“What is your greatest wish, elsen?” 

“My greatest wish is to create a world where none of us are scared to live ever again...where no one is lonely and we are happy. I've never... known true happiness. I would like to feel it...and let others feel it.”

“Why, that's an amazing wish and a great base for your new world! I want to recreate my park myself, create a zone of capitalism and a place that is truly like in a video game!”

The Judge spoke up as well “And I wish to give everyone hope, give everyone the ability to create their own path and promise.”

Zacharie turned to The Batter. “Will you grant us the power to fulfill our wishes, Batter?”

The Batter nodded. He would fulfill their imperfect wishes so his own would blossom. As the 3 planned out their zones, The Batter retreated back to where The Queen once stood. It would be a long and idle wait. And as he swung his bat in impatience, 3 holy circles began to form behind him. The nothingness had 3 guardians once more. 

Everything was going exactly as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it's gonna be a bit of a wait before the next chapter! I have to come up and design 3 new zones! I'd love to hear anyone's ideas on what the zones of the 3 would be like/have in it, so if you have any ideas, leave them in the comments! I may just use them (and give you credit in the chapter, of course!)


End file.
